Lost at Sea
by psyduck64
Summary: Weiss is a captain of the navy, but is displeased with the direction her life is going. What will happen when Weiss meets a fun-loving pirate in red? Will this new figure in Weiss' life show her a new path? Or will she stay lost at sea?


Lost at Sea

Six months at sea now, and not one sign of her. The crew nicknamed her the Red Pirate, on account of her cloak that she wears every time she boards the ship. On an average outing, I would not even stay at sea this long, and yet the Red Pirate would always be there, near the end of my voyage, to rob me of just one small thing. She would never try to fight, nor would she take more than she could carry, and she was fast, the fastest thing I'd ever seen. It was no surprise she had never been caught, even knowing she was going to board I still could not capture the thief. But today was different, today was a special day, because today is the day I take initiative and return the favour. I'm going to board her ship the moment she comes in range.

Yet however well planned out a scheme this may be, it means nothing should Red not show up. I've yet to sleep in three days, I've been waiting day and night for her ship to show itself on the horizon. The food stores have run dry, we must get to land within the week should we hope to survive. As much as it pains me to say it, I may have to return empty handed and a month overdue. A scolding will we a lucky punishment, most likely I will receive thirty-five lashes, one for each of my crew and ten for myself for having kept them from their families. I do not relish the thought of returning to harbor without Red, at least then I will have a reward to compensate for my tardiness.

It is hopeless. Yet another day has passed and yet nothing, no sign of her, nor any other pirates for that matter. It is time we forfeit our prize and return back to shore. We have enough food to last us the way back, should there be no complications on the way. I have already given the call to set sail, and I feel the rocking of the boat beneath me, lulling me to sleep. I have been without rest for far too long, my body is close to collapse. For the time being I may as well rest up, I will need my strength for when I return.

I wake to a sudden bump on the hull of the ship. It is night now, however, how many days had passed in my sleep i do not know. What I do know, is that she is here. Red is here, and I will be the one to capture her.

I grab my sword and pistolet from the door and rush out. I do not realize until I am halfway across the deck that I'm in nothing but my breeches but I do not care. Now is my only chance, should I waste time getting dressed I may miss it. Red is the fastest person I've ever seen after all. The boarding ramp was already down, which was odd, but I did not pay it much attention, my prize awaited me less than six meters across the ramp. Once I got to the other side, i took my first moment to pause and look around. The first thing i noticed was the boarding ramp, I realized, was not mine, but hers, stretched across to my ship, like an invitation. The second thing were the lamps. The entire deck of her ship was lit by suspended lamps, giving off a warm yellow light, glistening on the polished Teak of her deck. The third thing she saw was the trail of rose petals leading her up into the captains chambers. If she was going to invite me into her chambers, than I would gladly oblige. It is a courtesy after all.

As I made my way to her quarters, I was once again reminded of my nakedness as a gust of wind blew some sea spray onto my body. I felt uncomfortable to be meeting Red looking as such, however I did not have the option to go and change. I had already committed and must follow through. I opened the door to her chambers. She was waiting for me, wrapped in nothing but her red cloak. Although strange, it did make me feel more comfortable about my current appearance. She rose gracefully and gestured for me to sit down at her table, which I just realized had been set to serve royalty. The finest silver and more food than could be imagined was set out, yet only the two of them were there.

"Sit, please." Red gestured to the chair across from herself. I could not help but follow her direction. There was naught much else to do in the room, and besides, I was dreadfully hungry.

"I see you have robbed some very rich people" I was slightly disgusted at the thought of eating stolen food on stolen silver, but also rather impressed.

"A for here, a knife there, maybe a couple of plates somewhere else" She smiled "There's a certain charm to mismatched silver, i find. Every piece has it's story." She pointed to the knife in my hand "For example that is your knife, I took it just before you boarded my ship."

I looked closely at the knife in my hand. To my shock, i found it did in fact have my initials 'W.S' carved into the hilt. "How did you... "

"I'm fast. As you were running onto my ship, I snuck over onto yours and took your knife from your chambers. Wasn't that hard to be honest, your guards are fairly lazy."

"Is that why you steal from me? Because my guards cannot catch you?"

"Oh no. There isn't a guard alive who can catch me, not with all those clothes they wear. They're too heavy, too slow." She leaned back and grinned "No, I just like stealing from you. That's really my only reason"

Anger swelled up in my chest "And why is that? Have I done anything to you?"

"Well, yes and no." She paused for a moment. "I suppose it would be safe to say we are conducting an exchange"

"An exchange? As far as I know I have nothing of yours" Her cockyness was starting to get on my nerves.

"No, you stole something of mine from the first time I set foot on your ship, I've simply been exacting your debt."

"And pray tell, what is it of yours that i took?"

"My heart" She smiled, a hint of red touched her cheeks. She may be blushing, but I could not tell.

"Your, um… Excuse me?"

"You stole my heart, Weiss Schnee. And seeing as there is no return on an item so precious, I simply will have to make up for this theft with theft of my own. As is fair"

"Fair? Oh christ come on. I didn't steal your heart. If anything you gave it to me, the same way you will give me everything you've stolen."

"Nope."

"Nope?"

"Nope. I will promise you this. What I have stolen from you is worth a combined total of 13 gold and 26 silvers. Over the next year, I will return to you that exact amount, in gifts."

"Well, i guess that would be reasonable" It's the same value at least.

"On one condition. You have to have dinner with me whenever I deliver a gift."

"Sounds fair. One question, what is there to keep me from arresting you right now?"

"Nothing. Although I would really rather you not. At the end of this year, I will turn myself over to you and you may do with me what you will, but for now, allow me the pleasure of your company for one year."

"As long as you hold true to your word, I will honor our agreement then" I nodded. As I was making my way back to my ship I was once again reminded I was practically naked. Red's voice rang from the upper deck.

"Oh and you don't have to worry about your crew seeing you naked, I drugged their mead, they should all be passed out right now!"

You smile and give her a quick "Thank you" before getting back onto your ship. It would be bad for her to be seen so exposed, her crew would lose their respect for her immediately. It is incredibly dificult for a woman to maintain control of a male crew. Something Red surely knows the struggle of. Although from looking at her ship, it would seem she did not control her crew as well as she could, as she was sailing away, there was not a single soul on deck, except her.

A year has passed since my first encounter with Red. Since then I've learned so much, about her, the pirates, the sea, so many things I didn't know before. Over the past year, we would have encounters, once every couple of months. As time progressed I would have her stay on the ship for longer periods of time. The last encounter we had lasted nearly a week, almost entirely spend in my chambers, talking and laughing about non-sense. Red had a marvelous sense of humor, and an innocent way of thinking that made her a pleasure to be around. We would talk for hours on end, about the sea and the trade, and a topic she would bring up especially often was the Navy back home. I told her I didn't much care for the Navy, but my father was the General, so since birth I was trained to be a Captain. I believe she wants me to come with her when this is all over, however I have a family, a life in the harbor. I don't think she realizes that, even though there is a piece of me that wishes to go with her, I cannot leave behind all I have. I will speak to my father when I take Red back to the port, he will understand how much she means to me. He will spare her life, for my sake.

My crew knew what was going to happen long before it did. Jaune, our guard told me that when Red is on the way I start to smile. He said it was odd, since he'd never seen me smile before, not until Red showed up. Although he may never have seen it I'm sure I've smiled before. I'm plenty happy with my life.

Red's ship pulled up along our starboard side and dropped anchor. She leapt gracefully from her bulwark to my own. It had long since become apparent that the reason for her continued evasion of the Navy forces was not simply her speed. Apart from Red, I am the only one to have ever successfully completed that jump, but with no where near the grace of Red. As per our ritual, I greet her on the deck and she hands me a gift and we go into my chambers where I have dinner brought up. However this time was somewhat different. Red seemed antsy when she boarded, and when I asked for the gift she had given me, she gave a little shake of her head.

"Do you not have my gift?" I have to admit, I was very much looking forward to her final gift.

"I do, but, I would like to present it to you alone, if that is alright" She seemed out of sorts, uneasy. I wondered if she was sick.

"That would cause no problems. Let us retreat back to my chambers immediately then." I lead her up to my quarters, but given how many times she's been on the ship, she most likely could have found the right door blind.

When we entered the room, Red immediately threw off her cloak and collapsed on the bed. Her body glistened in all its naked glory.

"I really do not understand your distaste of clothing." I had asked many times but Red had avoided giving a direct answer as to why she wears nothing but a red cape.

"I suppose I will have to tell you today, it's our last day after all." She grinned "I only own one pair of clothes. They are the only possessions I managed to keep when I lost my home. The cape was given to me by a stranger I had met one night, along with the ship. I wear it as a remembrance to his generosity, the man very much saved my life." She sighed and settled herself down into my bed. "I don't like to wear those clothes, I never did, and yet they are all I have to call my own."

I was not surprised to hear something like this. Red always put on an air of airheadedness, but at her core she truly worked hard. She would joke and laugh and do stupid things sometimes, but she wanted to be accepted, to have someone to share her life with. There was no shame in those feelings, I have felt much the same things since I became a Captain.

"Anyway, wheres dinner?" Ruby perked up at the thought of food. "I want to wait until after we eat to er… give you your gift." She smiled.

Something was up with her, and I was excited to find out what it was. I called for the dinner to be brought as quickly as possible and sat down to chat for a while longer with Red. Dinner came quickly, although Red seemed to get more and more anxious as time went on. The sight of food seemed to calm her down, as usual. Once the meal was finished, a silence settled upon the room. I didn't want to break it, but it seemed I would have to take initiative if Red was going to reveal her final gift.

"So what did you bring this time?" Red almost jumped from her seat at the disturbance of my voice. She fumbled around for something in the pocket of her cape and promptly fell to the floor.

"Crap! I dropped it! oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no" She was scrambling across the floor, looking quite ridiculous. Her cape had fallen off again.

"Would you like some help? If you told me what it was then maybe i could…"

"NO." Red shouted, the slapped her hands across her mouth. "Sorry, I mean, please don't I don't want it to be spoiled"

I nodded, although it was likely Red's presentation was already spoiled, I kept quiet. Red took several minutes to locate her missing gift, which seemed to be some small metal object, but Red's hands were so fast I only managed to catch a glimpse. She took a moment to compose herself before continuing.

"Weiss, I told you the first time we met, that you stole my heart from me. I can give you back the money I took from you, but there is one more thing i must ask if we are to come out of this trade on even ground" I raised an eyebrow as Red kneeled on the floor and held up her last gift. A white gold ring. Perfectly polished, pristine and glowing, with a ruby heart placed in the center of the band. "With this ring, I have fulfilled my debt to you. Now if I may ask it, I would like you to fulfil your debt to me." I was smiling now, I knew what she was going to say the moment the ring came out. A tear began to well in the corner of my eye. "Weiss Schnee, in return for the theft of my heart, I ask you give me yours, so that our fates may become one, and as you accept this ring, you accept that we are now one. Together always, until death do us part."

I grabbed the ring and put in on my hand "Ruby Rose. I agree to share my life with you, for as long as you accept me as your partner." I pulled her back to her feet and embraced her. Jaune's words about rang in my ears, if I lacked a reason to smile before, I certainly do not now.

Suddenly I found myself pushing Red away. I had just realized what I had done. I was the daughter of the General, the Queen of the Sea. With soul crushing sadness I looked to Ruby's shocked face. There was no way I could marry a pirate. I had a duty to my family, to my country. I did not have the freedom to live impulsively. As Red does.

Tears were falling from my eyes as I looked at the ring on my finger. A moment ago I may have been the happiest woman alive, and now I could barely move. I lost myself in the moment , and now the consequences of my actions were setting in.

"Weiss, what's wrong?" Her voice brought me back to my senses. I forced myself to calm down. at least enough to speak.

"Ruby Rose. I love you more than anyone in the world. This past year I have done nothing but wait for our next meeting, but I do not have the liberty to marry you. My life already belongs to my country, the Navy. The Navy that is sworn to protect my country from pirates. From you."

"What?" Ruby looked confused, she thought about it for a moment "OH, that's terrible!"

"It is terrible, I want you more than anything but I have to fulfill my responsibilities."

"Well then take me. Leave the Navy and come travel with me. We can be Pirates together!" She grabbed my shoulder "If there's one thing I know, it's that you have to follow your heart. Do not follow your father, or your country, follow yourself. Follow me, and I promise I will take you where you want to go."

I collapsed into her arms and allowed her to hold me for a long while. She was right. There was no use in following my father, if it meant nothing but sadness. Yet even here, out in the open sea, his shadow still lingered over me, not even Ruby's light can dispel a shadow as dark as his.

"I'm sorry Ruby…"

"DON'T DO IT CAPTAIN" Jaune burst in from the hall, followed by the majority of the crew. The rest waiting in the hallway. "Captain."Jaune started "I know you have a responsibility to your father, and to our country, but please, listen to Red." He pushed me back into Ruby's arms "I have not once seen you smile, Captain. Not once." He blushed slightly "I know, because I was watching you. I was always watching you. I love you Captain. So I know better than anyone, you have to follow your heart. The rest of the crew agrees. Right guys?"

The crowd began chants of "Marry Her!" and "Follow Your Heart!" as well as a couple "Everything except the love part, that's Jaunes thing!" I started to cry again.

"I promise you Miss Schnee, I have never seen you happier than you are now." Jaune continued "If you decide to leave Red and go back then you might as well hang yourself for treason right now, because there's no other way to live than being true to yourself" Jaune crossed his arms and glared at me.

"But what…"

"No buts. You are going to go with Ruby."

"The ship…"

"Me and the boys will take care of the ship. We can tell your father you were kidnapped if you like, but with your skill I doubt he would believe us."

I turned to Ruby, who had not said much of anything during this who commotion. I only then realize she was standing there completely naked. It seemed as though Jaune and the rest of the crew noticed as well as they all got red in the face and began to back out. I began to laugh. It felt good, clean and pure. I had long missed laughing like this, this laugh was a free laugh, free of my father. Free of my sadness and my pain. I took Ruby in my arms and kissed her. She smiled pulled me into the bed, joining me in my happiness.

BONUS

It has been three years since Ruby and I had first started to travel together. Since then there have been several skirmishes with my old Navy, but we generally get away without much trouble. We visited many places together, stealing just enough to get by, mostly from other pirates or my old Navy outposts. Right now we're headed inland to meet a certain acquaintance of Ruby's. The stranger who gave her her boat that night after she lost her home. I've not heard much other than other than his name. Ozpeg or something similar. He has white hair, like mine, shouldn't be too hard to find in a crowd. To be honest, I don't really care who were are going to meet or what continent we wash up in, as long as I can share the journey with my beautiful Rose then I will be happy.

I look down at the ring on my finger. The gold has been tarnished and scratched but the ruby in the middle is still whole. I could not imagine my life right now had Ruby not shown up and guided me out of the shadows. She has a charm about her, a brightness that surrounds her, a light powerful enough to dispel any shadow. My light in the dark, the lantern to guide me when I was lost at sea.


End file.
